Printing roll



Dec. 3, 1957 E. e. SEARY ET AL 2,814,855

PRINTING ROLL Filed May 4. 1954 26 I6 28 l8 I9 22 20 24A [2 20 22 I8 28 I6 26 EUGENE 6. SEAR) MAI- LONE MIGHELBACH IN VENTORS BY flaw P ATTORNEYS United States Patent PRINTING ROLL Eugene G. Scary, Rochester, and Mahlon F. Michelbach, Endicott, N. Y.

Application May 4, 1954, Serial No. 427,644

1 Claim. (Cl. 29-123) This invention relates to a printing roll and more particularly to a printing roll having a changeable sleeve member adapted to carry the printing type or other printing means.

On rotary printing presses a cylindrical roll carries type matter or similar material arranged on its outer peripheral surface. In some printing processes this roll is the source of great expense because a complete new roll is required on each job. Numerous attempts have been made to overcome this difficulty but none appears to be completely satisfactory.

One of the attempts to solve this problem has been the use of a demountable sleeve on a permanent mandrel. In such cases the concentricity of the roll is controlled by the relationship of the inner surface of the sleeve to the outer surface of the mandrel. In other cases tapers have been cut in the ends of the sleeve to achieve accurate relative positioning of these two members. These methods are not satisfactory because it is necessary to accurately machine or grind two surfaces, namely, the locating surface which is the inner sleeve surface, and the printing surface. These sleeve surfaces must then be fitted into an accurately machined mandrel. This double machining is difiicult and expensive because concentricity between the inner and outer surfaces of the sleeve must be maintained to very close tolerances.

In order to overcome this difiiculty, a printing roll has been devised wherein the outer surface of the sleeve is the locating surface as well as the type carrying surface, thus eliminating the necessity of machining the inner surface to a close concentricity with respect to the outer surface. This sleeve is carried between two holders, each having an annular flange on one face, the inner peripheral surface of which is accurately machined for concentricity and of such a diameter that the outer surface of the sleeve will fit snugly therein. These holders are carried on a shaft and are accurately fitted thereon so that the desired concentricity is maintained. Suitable securing means are included for retaining these members in assembled position on the shaft.

Therefore it is one object of this invention to provide a printing roll having an inexpensively machined sleeve which carries the printing type or similar matter on its surface.

It is another object to provide a printing roll in which the outer surface of the sleeve is the locating means used to maintain the necessary concentricity with respect to the longitudinal axis of the printing roll.

It is a still further object to provide a printing roll of the above type wherein the sleeve is snugly interfitted within the annular flanges on the confronting faces of the holders concentrically carried on the printing roll shaft.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing showing, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of this invention, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the printing roll;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printing roll'showing the arrangement and relationship of the components;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the printing roll; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on line 44 of Fig. 2, showing the relationship of the components.

As shown in Fig. 2 the printing roll 10 comprises a shaft 12 with a pair of bearing members 1414 thereon. Each bearing 14 is positioned near the outer end of the shaft and has a threaded portion 16 on its outer end. The shaft 12 and the bearings 14-14 are generally machined from one piece of rod stock. However, it is contemplated that the bearings could be separate members which are assembled on the shaft. These bearing members carry circular sleeve holders 18-18, each of which has a circular recess 20 on the face which confronts the other holder. This recess produces an annular flange 22 which need be only as thick as is necessary to give the required mechanical strength. The depth of the flange is unimportant as long as it is suificient to properly support the sleeve.

A sleeve 24 is carried between holders 18-18 and its end portions fit snugly into recesses 2020, the outer surface of the sleeve 24 fitting against the inner peripheral face 23 of flange 22 to accurately position the outer surface of the sleeve with respect to the shaft 12. In fact the inner peripheral face 23 of each holder acts as the sole means for concentrically positioning the sleeve. As indicated in the various figures of the drawing, the sleeve 24 is a seamless imperforate right circular cylinder.

A journal 26 extends from each end of the shaft 12 and is the means by which the printing roll 10 is operatively supported in a printing machine. Obviously the concentricity of the outer surface of the journal with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft must be controlled. The holders 18-18 and sleeve 24 are held in assembled position on shaft 12 by means of nuts 2828.

As has been previously mentioned and as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, it is necessary that the concentricity of the outer surface of the sleeve with respect to the axis of the printing roll which is the same as that of the shaft be maintained within very close tolerances. Therefore the shaft, the bearings, the holders and the outer surface of the sleeve must be accurately machined. More specifically, the surface of the shaft must have its concentricity with respect to its longitudinal axis controlled, likewise for the outer surface of the bearings. The concentricity of the surface 19 of the hole in the sleeve holder which fits on the bearing 14 and the inner peripheral surface 23 of flange 22 must also be held to close tolerance. At first glance it may appear that this is such 'a costly operation that this printing roll would not be economically feasible. Admittedly it is expensive to machine the shaft, bearings and holders to these close concentricity requirements, but when it is considered that it is necessary to do this only once then the picture becomes more favorable. By so setting up this arrangement it is possible to locate the sleeve by its outer surface and this eliminates the expensive finishing normally necessary when the inner and outer sleeve surfaces must have their concentricity controlled. This becomes quite important when a large number of sleeves are used.

The outer surface of the sleeve is quite easily formed on a centerless grinder which is actually a very inexpensive method of finishing a sleeve such as this to 'a close tolerance.

In assembling this unit, a holder 18 is placed on the inner portion of the bearing 14 and held in place by a nut 28 threaded on the bearing. The sleeve 24 is passed over the other end of the shaft 12 and fitted into the recess 20 in holder 18 assembled on the shaft, after which the other holder 18 and nut 28 are positioned on the other hearing. The nuts 2828 are then tightened and the printing roll 10 is then in fully assembled condition as shown in Fig. 1 and is ready to have the printing matter arranged on its outer surface.

Thus there has been provided a printing roll having a replaceable roll element in the form of a sleeve which is machined to close concentricity requirements on its outer surface only, thereby making it possible to produce these sleeves very inexpensively.

What We claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A printing roll comprising: a shaft having a bearing surface adjacent each end, each bearing surface being concentric with the longitudinal axis of said shaft, a pair of sleeve holders, each holder having a center hole of a diameter sufiicient to snugly fit on the shaft and surrounded by a surface concentric with the longitudinal axis of the hole, a circular flange on the inner face of each sleeve holder, the inner peripheral surface of each flange being concentric with the axis of the holder hole, a sleeve holder mounted on each end portion of the shaft with the surface surrounding the holder hole snugly fitted thereon so that the inner peripheral surface of each holder flange Will be concentric with the longitudinal axis of the shaft, the holders being positioned with their flanges in confronting relation, an imperforate rigid seamless right circular sleeve surrounding the shaft, said sleeve having an outer surface adapted for carrying printing elements, each end portion of the outer surface of the sleeve snugly interfitted Within the inner peripheral flange surface of each sleeve holder, the sleeve having its outer surface concentrically formed with respect to its longitudinal axis so that its outer surface will be concentric with the shaft, the inner peripheral surface on each holder acting as the sole means for concentrically positioning the sleeve, and means for forcing the holders inwardly against the sleeve and retaining same in assembled positron.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 214,454 Righter Apr. 15, 1879 648,527 Richards May 1, 1900 815,928 Lev Mar. 20, 1906 837,029 Bittner Nov. 27, 1906 924,402 Turner June 8, 1909 1,482,744 Heifernan Feb. 5, 1924 1,486,052 Stephenson Mar. 4, 1924 1,848,856 Wagner Mar. 8, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,768 Great Britain Feb. 4, 1887 8,163 Great Britain June 7, 1887 

